1995 News Releases

U.S. EPA SAYS NO HEALTH THREAT AT L-P SUPERFUND SITE

(San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today said its investigation shows that the Louisiana-Pacific (L-P) Superfund site, Oroville, Calif., does not present a significant environmental or human health threat. The remaining groundwater contamination in the area comes from the nearby Koppers Superfund site; the Agency's work there continues.

"After a careful investigation of environmental problems at this site, U.S. EPA has found that the risk to public health from the site is minimal," said Keith Takata, deputy director of hazardous waste management for U.S. EPA's western regional office. U.S. EPA will withdraw its existing requirement for both well permit restrictions in the area of the L-P plant and deed restrictions prohibiting future residential use of the plant. L-P will have to conduct limited additional monitoring to the west of the plant in response to an order issued in April by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

In 1990, U.S. EPA issued an interim Record of Decision (ROD) for the L-P site requiring additional groundwater monitoring, soil sampling and institutional controls (fencing, deed restrictions and well permit restrictions). L-P recently completed the soil sampling and groundwater monitoring required by that ROD, and the results of that work indicate that contaminants are below health-based levels of concern.

At the adjacent Koppers Superfund site, Beazer East Inc. has built and is operating two groundwater treatment plants. The company also has nearly completed excavating dioxin-contaminated soil from a portion of the site and placing it in an on-site landfill. A reevaluation of the remaining soil cleanup remedy should be completed by the end of this year.

The Louisiana Pacific Superfund site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1986. The Koppers site was added to the NPL in 1984. The NPL is U.S. EPA's list of hazardous waste sites potentially posing the greatest long-term threat to public health and the environment. U.S. EPA identifies and ranks NPL sites according to threats to nearby populations through actual or potential contamination of groundwater, surface water or air.